The Secret of a Happy Marriage
by Sara K M
Summary: As Rose celebrates her engagement to Atticus, she asks Cora for advice. References to Rose/Atticus, Shrimpie/Susan, Martha/Isadore Levinson and of course, Cobert.


The Secret of a Happy Marriage

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Downton Abbey.**_

**I don't understand why Rose doesn't have a character tag. "Reed" (who was Martha's maid when she came to Downton in season 3, from what I understand), has a character tag and Rose, who was a main character for two whole seasons, does not?**

**This story really should be tagged with her, but whatever.**

Rose danced around Downton in the days after her Atticus proposed. She skipped down the large staircase. She bounced into the library, telling everyone how wonderful he was. "He's just so sweet," she said to Tom as he came inside. "Did I tell you about the time when we met, how he offered me his umbrella while he carried my packages?"

"Yes, you did," Tom nodded with a smile.

"Edith, isn't my Atticus clever?" Rose said as they all sat down in the drawing room another afternoon. But cousin Edith ignored Rose, choosing instead to cuddle the little orphan she'd recently adopted for the tenth time in the last two days.

Instead Rose turned to one of her other cousins to speak about Atticus. "And isn't he so handsome, Mary? He's so tall with that gorgeous hair and that adorable smile. And those eyes," Rose sighed in contentment.

Cousin Mary just rolled her eyes in that droll way of hers, probably thinking Rose was gushing too much about her fiancé. But Rose was too happy to care. It was funny that two years ago, she was only interested having affairs with married men, and now Rose was ready for a real commitment. But it wasn't a commitment to just anyone. Atticus was everything she'd ever wanted in a man. And somehow, he seemed to love her just as much as she loved him.

Still, their different faiths would be a challenge, and Rose knew that. When she first met Atticus, the fact that he was Jewish only made him more interesting. He wasn't one of those ordinary lords Mummy would have expected Rose to marry. On the contrary, his Jewish family immigrated from Russia in the last century and had made a name for themselves. But now that she and Atticus would be married, Rose wondered how they would manage things.

Would they celebrate Christmas? Rose wondered as she climbed into bed a couple of nights later. Would they attend synagogue? "It's best not to assume it will be plain sailing" Cousin Robert had warned her. Still, perhaps there was a way for it to become easier. Cousin Cora had said her father was Jewish, right? Rose would speak to her tomorrow.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"What was it like, growing up with a Jewish father?" Rose asked Cousin Cora as soon she was available the next day. "What kind of challenges did you have, being raised Christian while he wasn't?"

Cousin Cora smiled warmly and put aside her needlework, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness. Rose loved how happy the other woman always was to talk. Certainly, much easier than Mummy, who had screamed and lectured to Rose every time they were near each other. "I normally think of my parents' relationship as an example of how not to conduct a marriage. Still, they taught my brother and I to respect Judaism from an early age."

She patted the spot next to her on the soft red settee, and Rose immediately sat next Cousin Cora. "Truly?" Rose asked.

"Truly," Cousin Cora nodded. "We knew that Poppa attended synagogue on Saturday, and that he celebrated different holidays than we did. He never decorated the Christmas tree, but he didn't get in our way while we did. And Harold and I weren't allowed to play with Poppa's menorah when he displayed it during Hanukah."

Rose nodded as she eagerly soaked in all of Cousin Cora's words. They gave Rose hope. Perhaps her life with Atticus would be easier than she'd thought.

"Poppa prayed in Hebrew, which was a language I didn't understand, but we had to stay quiet while he prayed, anyway," she continued, her blue eyes looking far into the distance, as if she could see the memories from there. "And he stayed quiet while we prayed as well. The only religious holiday we all celebrated was Passover. Even though Mother, Harold, and I weren't Jewish, we would all travel to Poppa's aunt's house for the Passover meal. The food was different than what we usually ate, but it was acceptable."

Cousin Cora paused, her eyes staring into the distance again. "Mother instructed the cook to make our meals kosher when Poppa actually ate with us."

Staring for a moment, Rose tried to understand what she meant by that. Was Mr. Levinson not allowed to eat with his family for some reason? "Actually ate?" she said slowly, hoping Cousin Cora would explain that a little.

"Remember Rose, my father owned his own company, and he was able to make a great deal of money," she explained with a sigh. "As time when on, he started to spend more and more time in his office and less and less time at home. There were times when he didn't come home at all for a couple of months. But that had nothing to do with Judaism or Christianity."

Rose nodded again, trying to understand. Suddenly, she remembered something Cousin Cora had said at the beginning of this conversation. "I normally think of my parents' relationship as an example of how not to conduct a marriage." For all their respect of each other's different faiths, perhaps Cousin Cora's parents were more like Rose's parents than she'd thought?

"And your parents' marriage?" Rose asked, suddenly needing to know. After all, there was no marriage advice that she trusted more than Cousin Cora's. "You had said you usually think of theirs as an example of how not to behave…"

Cousin Cora sighed deeply, causing her pearl necklace to jiggle against her chest. "Rose, I think my parents honestly loved each other when they married. But after my father came into money, things started to change." Her face lost its color, like she was feeling sorry. "_He _changed, and my mother changed too, I think. Their feelings changed."

Rose's heart thumped as she digested those words. She had believed if she married someone she loved, her marriage wouldn't turn out like her own parents, who couldn't even be in the same room without insulting each other or exchanging passive aggressive comments. Many times, their fights consisted of Rose could do or not do.

"I'm not going to marry for position, like you did," Rose had told her father. "I'll only marry for love."

She'd been certain Atticus was her answer; she did love him so much. But now Cousin Cora painted a different picture. Was it possible to marry for love and still end up in an unhappy relationship? How could Rose and Atticus have a marriage like Cousin Cora and Cousin Robert rather than like Mr. and Mrs. Levinson?

"Mother used to tell me it was inevitable in a marriage for people's feelings to change like that," Cousin Cora chuckled dryly.

Rose smiled despite the nerves that danced in her belly that she was desperately trying to ignore. Rose supposed her mother's advice would seem ironic to Cousin Cora, when one considered how blissfully happy her marriage was. Even the woman's recent flirtation and her husband's resulting jealousy hadn't broken the love between Cousin Cora and Cousin Robert. Their feelings had never changed in over thirty years and never would. "How did you realize your feelings wouldn't change?" Rose asked, desperate for the secret of a truly happy marriage.

Cousin Cora leaned closer to Rose and whispered, "Actually, Mother was correct. It is inevitable for feelings to change."

Staring into her blue eyes for answers, Rose felt herself lose her voice, she was so confused. How could that be true?

"But what Mother never told me, perhaps because she never learned it herself, was that feelings changing are not always a bad thing," said Cousin Cora., whispering the answer again. "Sometimes a couple can have different types of emotions to express love. Furthermore, when love does start to fade, it is possible for it to flourish again if you work on it."

"Truly?" Rose said, staring at Cousin Cora, wondering if the older woman had really shared the secret to a successful marriage in only a couple of moments.

Cousin Cora's smile grew across her face. "Truly."

"Then I hope Atticus and I can have all the respect that your parents had with their different faiths and all the love that you and Cousin Robert have," Rose said with a grin. She pictured her and Atticus teaching their children about Judaism and Christianity. She imagined seeing Atticus's handsome face every day and giving him a kiss. Rose even thought of Atticus asking her opinions on different subjects, considering what a respectable, kind man he was.

Cousin Cora squeezed Rose's hand gently. "You will, if you are both willing to put the effort into it."

**Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the main reasons Cobert's relationship works so well, in my headcanon. Martha cautioned Cora that "feelings would change" in a marriage, to protect her daughter's heart. **

**But Cora, being the wise optimistic woman that she is, turned that advice on its head. She accepted that feelings would change in a marriage and was prepared to help their feelings change back.**


End file.
